LUANDA: Togo, who pulled out of the Africa Cup of Nations after a terrorist attack on their team bus, have been banned for the next two competitions in 2012 and 2014, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said Saturday.
CAF president Issa Hayatou told AFP the decision was based on governmental interference, which led to Togo s pull out of this year s edition.
The sanction was immediately attacked by Togo midfielder Thomas Dossevi, who urged the Togo Football Federation to lodge an appeal.
In another development the families of the two people killed in the attack are reportedly taking legal action against CAF and the Angolan state.
Togo quit the 2010 Nations Cup after two members of their delegation were shot and killed during the ambush on the team convoy as it arrived in the restive Angolan enclave of Cabinda.
The armed wing of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC), embroiled in a decades-long separatist struggle, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Togo, captained by Manchester City star Emmanuel Adebayor, initially wanted to compete in Group B with Ivory Coast, Ghana and Burkina Faso, but quit on their national government s orders.
They left Cabinda to return home on the evening of the start of the competition on January 10.
Togo midfielder Dossevi said Togo should appeal against the ban.
We are a group of footballers who came under fire and now we can t play football any more. They are crushing us, Dossevi said in quotes on the BBC s website.
Togo should appeal the suspension. When we said we were going home for a three-day mourning they said they were with us in this ordeal and now they punish us.
Families of the assistant coach and the press officer who were killed are suing CAF and the Angolan government, their lawyer said.
We are taking legal action because our compatriots were killed because of the mistakes of the Confederation of African Football (and) its president Mr Issa Hayatou, lawyer Alexis Aquereburu told the BBC.
(The legal claim is) also against the Angolan state for putting in danger the life of our compatriots by organizing this African Nations Cup in a war zone.
Hayatou explained why CAF had issued the ban.
I told the players that we understood their position, the CAF boss told AFP.
We asked them to remain, but that if they decided to leave we would take action. And the players told us they would remain. Up to that point we were in agreement.
But when there was political interference we couldn t accept that.
He said the Togo case was identical to one involving Nigeria who were withdrawn from the 1996 edition on their national government s orders.
That was political interference and we banned the Nigeria team for the next two editions under article 78 of our rules.
Hayatou continued: There are no exceptional circumstances where political interference to withdraw a team is concerned.
If the Togo players had decided to quit due to their emotion and suffering then we would have been understanding.
CAF s decision to punish Togo appears to be at odds with their position on the matter four days after the attack when Togo coach Hubert Velud revealed: Hayatou came to us to offer his condolences.
He confirmed to us, but I m wary about it all the same, that Togo would not be suspended for the following Africa Cup of Nations.
The attack occurred as the Togo convoy drove into Cabinda from Congo-Brazzaville on the Friday, leaving players cowering under their seats during a 20-minute gunbattle with security forces.
Communications chief Stanislas Ocloo and assistant coach Abalo Amnalete were killed and goalkeeper, Kodjovi Obilale, was among the injured.
Obilale was airlifted to a hospital in Johannesburg where he is receiving treatment after gun shots to the back and abdomen.
They fired on us like dogs, reported Togo squad member Thomas Dossevi at the time.
Despite fears of more attacks the competition, which reaches its climax with Sunday s final between champions Egypt and Ghana, has passed off peacefully.
